ST.Euphrasia Eluvathingal

   ST.EUPHRASIA ELUVATHINGAL –

                           THE PRAYING MOTHER

November 23^rd 2014 will ever be marked as a red letter day in the history of the Catholic Church in general and the Syro-Malabar church which dates back its origin from the apostolic times in particular. For, on this day His Holiness Pope Francis  canonized two saintly Indians  namely, St.Fr. Chavara  Kuriakose  Elias CMI ,the founder of the Congregation of the Mother  of Carmel(CMC), the first indigenous women religious congregation in the Syro-Malabar Rite,  and St. Mother Euphrasia Eluvathinkal CMC  who is a member of the same congregation  .

            St. Euphrasia has been introduced to us, the faithful, at this crucial period of our lives in the church and in the world so that we may delve deep in to her spiritual river and quench the hunger and thirst of our starving souls. She is a great gift to the post modern, terrifically fast moving globe, which is very much in need of   the fragrance of the sanctity expressed in her humanness, prayer, self emptiness and solitude. The   spirituality of the saint,  which emerges from her own ‘Letters’ written to her spiritual director and confessor,  Mar John Menacherry ,the bishop of Trissur  and the Convent Chronicles  thrills , mesmerizes and exalts the hearts and minds, not only of the faithful but also of all  who come into contact  with  it. Her marvellous personality makes every one of us Indians; feel    proud of her very existence in our country rich in spiritual heritage. Being a member of the CMC, Saint Euphrasia’s spirituality has been enhancing the beauty and dignity of the life of the consecrated persons all over the Christendom especially of her own congregation of the Mother of Carmel. No doubt,   Saint Euphrasia’s spirituality is not simply like   a limited pond but it is like the vast sea where everyone who has a desire for reaching the highest peak of sanctity can freely dive, jump, swim, and fully get saturated in it. She will ever remain challenging, and encouraging all of us to follow the path which she has already cleared fours.

     Saint Euphrasia is a humble CMC nun who has personalized the prayer heritage of Carmel and lived according to the divine inspirations and rose to the heights of sanctity. For all of us who are called to be the beloved of God that is to be saints (Rom: 1:7), the spirit-filled life of St. Euphrasia is an example and to take a peep into her holy life would be proper and useful.
Rosa was born as the daughter of Eluvathinkal Antony and Kunjethi on 17 October, 1877 in Kattur which was in the undivided Trissur Diocese and now in the Diocese of Irinjalakuda. Besides three brothers, Rosa had a sister also, but she died in early childhood. Even in the midst of all wealth and pomp in the family, little Rosas heart desired only God. A good evidence of this is her offer of her virginity to God at the tender age of 9. After overcoming many obstacles she was able by the grace of God to become a member of the boarding of the kerala Carmelite Congregation in (founded by Bl. Kuriakose Elias Chavara in 1866) at Koonammavu. In those days the Koonammavu boarding was the only place of virtue where the girls who desire religious life can go. There the boarding started in 1868 was taught orderly life and education and practice of virtue besides other handicrafts also were taught. This was a very good training place for the girls who desired religious life.

 She was very much inspired by the saintly life of her patron Saint, St.Rose De Lima, a model for holiness. Her story was narrated to her by her own beloved mother. We understand from her letter to her spiritual director Mar. John Menacherry the Bishop of Trissur, that at the age of nine, she had a vision of Mother Mary, ‘the Queen of Angels ’as  she was lying sleepless thinking of the meaning of the same term in the Litany of Mother Mary. Mother Mary also asked Rosa to tell her father of her decision to embrace the religious life as a nun. With this first appearance of Mother Mary and her instruction to adore along with the nine choirs of angels, personally given by mother Mary as a daily adoration schedule from 4 am to 10 pm (letters no.30, 31) Young Rosa was introduced to a mystical level of God experience. It is as if heaven has exploded into her very ordinary earthly existence. It is as if Heaven has exploded into her very ordinary earthly existence, the infinite interacting the finite, the eternal, the temporal.

3July 1888 Rosa enters Koonammavu Boarding established by St. Chavara Kuriakose Elias with the definite purpose of giving training for girls in spiritual life. The boarders were those who intended to join a convent and lead religious life Rosa’s father was very reluctant at first to permit her to become a religious. But God’s intervention through the sudden demise of Kochuthresia, Rosa’s younger sister struck fear in Rosa’s father and hence finally permitted Rosa to join the convent.

Actually by this decision Rosa was leaving behind all the comforts of a luxurious family life following Christ very closely. In the understanding of St.John of the Cross she was following the path of perfect love to the Summit of Mount Carmel; “nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing on the way, nothing on the Mountain.” (The Ascent) She was simultaneously following the way of humility, detachment and charity according to TheWay of Perfection advised by St.Therese of Avila. Rosa’s determination and her abiding love of Christ were tested during the severe trials of sickness while in the Boarding. But she stood the test victoriously and courageously. On 24 Oct 1888 Rosa had to return home for medical treatment. 4July 1889 she came back to the boarding after regaining health.   But she got seriously sick by September 1889 17^th Sept. She received a miraculous healing from the vision of the Holy Family.

Mother Euphrasia who was appointed superior of the St. Marys convent Ollur from 1913-1916 served the sisters under her authority in a very exemplary way. She was able to do loving and kind services to all those who came into contact with her because of the divine love she received from the Holy Eucharist and the Sacred Heart of Jesus and her devotion to Mother Mary.
Mother Euphrasia grew in humility, poverty and holiness as she completely obeyed the will of God every moment. The whole life of this virgin was full of continuous prayer, penance and reparation. Mother Euphrasia who found contentment in loving Jesus, her divine spouse was always in the forefront in receiving censure and abuses. All those who approached her she helped with motherly love, prayer and good advice. This prayer help she extended to souls in purgatory also. After a long life of 75 years, Euphrasia, the praying mother passed away in the convent at Ollur on 29 August, 1952. It was a wonder that the church bell at Cheralayam parish began to ring without stop at her death.
To all those who prayed her intercession, the one who never forget even after death, granted graces. God is revealing her great heavenly intercessory power through miracles and signs. This holy virgin who desired to become an unknown saint is raised today to the glory of the altar by the Almighty and the sweet fragrance of her sanctity is spread worldwide.

  Her love for the divine Redeemer persuaded her to stand by all those whom her Lord loved. She opened the gate of her heart wide for the entire universe. Her charity was superb that she offered their needs, troubles, trials and tribulations to the Almighty Father as a loving oblation in the form of intercessory prayers wrapped in her penance, through the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Besides, problems like the schism that troubled the church, the weakness and defaults that were at times seen in priests and religious which wound the heart of Jesus, suffering of the souls in purgatory, the sorrow of the families in the parish etc always moved and hurt her heart .So, she wanted to pray more and make more sacrifices to get the showers of divine mercy up on them.

The saint made her totally available for all those who approached her for prayer support and consolation. It is to be remembered, at this juncture, that Mother Euphrasia long back had emphasized the family apostolate as the road to faith formation and value based life. Therefore, it is the bounden duty of every religious. In addition to this, the saint had deep concern and mercy towards the labourers, catering staff and the domestic servants of her convent. She used to endear herself with them even becoming unmindful of their weaknesses. Some of them cherish their sweet experiences of their contact with the saint with high respect, pride, Joy and immense gratitude.

In summing up, when we go through the incidents, incessant mystical experiences, visions and personal experiences which happened in the life of St. Euphrasia, we understand the fact that, each saint is different from the other saint regarding the intensity of the love of God, dedication and perceptions. At the same time, the basis of the tower of sanctity remains the same for all. The Message of the life of St.Euphrasia is that anyone who wishes to accept the discipleship of Jesus should have to lovingly embrace His narrow door- His way of the cross.  However, this suffering for the love of the Crucified Lord will taste like nectar and they will become worthy of all the promises of God as St. Paul mentions in his letter. “My God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus “(Phil.4/19).